The Bad Girl. Mario Vargas Llosa. (Peru)
Presents the story of a love affair between a Peruvian translator and an adventurous, independent woman, as it unfolds over the course of forty years, from Lima to London, Paris, Tokyo, and Madrid. Fic Vargas Llosa, M.

The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet. Arturo Perez-Reverte. (Spain)
The fifth entry in this literary adventure series set in 17th-century Spain finds the swashbuckling Captain Alatriste and his protege compromised by their love affairs and a court conspiracy. Fic Perez-Reverte, A.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Muriel Barbery. (France/Japan)
A thought-provoking book about life, art, literature, philosophy, culture, class, privilege, and power, seen through the eyes of a 54-year old French concierge and a precocious but troubled 12-year-old girl. Fic Barbery, M.

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. Stieg Larsson. (Sweden)
Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back. Catch the last in the runaway hit trilogy from Sweden, as Lisbeth Salander, a feisty, computer wunderkind clears her name and seeks revenge. Fic Larsson, S.

The God of Small Things. Arundhati Roy. (India)
This powerful Booker Prize winner (1997) takes us to Kerala, India in 1969, when Rahel and her twin brother Estha learn that their whole world can change in a single day, and that love and life can be lost in a moment. Fic Roy, A.

Kitchen. Banana Yoshimoto. (Japan)
Kitchen juxtaposes two tales about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan. Fic Yoshimoto, B.

Once on a moonless night. Sijie Dai. (China/France)
A student in 1970s China goes in search of her lost love, and finds a missing scroll inscribed by the Buddha, in this haunting story that carries us across the breadth of China's past, both myth and reality. Fic Dai, S.

Purple Hibiscus. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (Nigeria)
Sent to stay with their professor aunt during a military coup, fifteen-year-old Kambili and her brother discover a life and love beyond the confines of their Catholic father's authority. Fic Adichie, C.N.

The pyramid: and four other Kurt Wallander mysteries. Henning Mankell. (Sweden)
Short works featuring Swedish crime investigator Wallander as a young patrolman on his first case, a new father facing unexpected danger on Christmas Eve, and an experienced detective solving a variety of murders. M Mankell, H.

The savage detectives. Roberto Bolano. (Chile)
This wildly inventive and ambitious novel tells the story of two modern-day Quixotes on a tragicomic quest through a darkening, entropic universe: our own. Fic Bolano, R.

Nonfiction

Aphrodite : a memoir of the senses. Isabel Allende. (Chile)
A feast of fascinating facts about the aphrodisiac powers of food and drink. Allende gives an ode to sensuality that is an irresistible blend of memory, imagination and the senses. Includes recipes. 868.6409 Allende

The Forger. Cioma Schonhaus. (Germany)
A young graphic artist found a unique outlet for his talent: he forged documents for people fleeing the Reich. Breathtakingly bold, Schonhaus' story is an astonishing tale of wartime heroism and survival. 940.5318 Schonhaus

The Good Women of China : hidden voices. Xinran. (China)
Xinran hosted a radio call-in show in China that bore witness to decades of civil strife, and of attempts at self-understanding in a painfully restrictive society. This collection offers an altogether unprecedented work of oral history. 305.4095 Xin

Hovering at a Low Altitude. Dahlia Ravikovitch. (Israel)
In poems about fathers and daughters, kings and their subjects, and the precarious position of women, Dahlia Ravikovitch articulates the painful asymmetries of power. 892.416 Ravikovitch

Seven Years in Tibet. Heinrich Harrer. (Austria)
In this vivid memoir, Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer recounts his adventures as one of the first Europeans ever to enter Tibet and encounter the Dalai Lama. 951.504 Harrer

Stolen Lives : twenty years in a desert jail. Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi. (Morocco/France)
Malika Oufkir's life of luxury came to a halt when her father attempted to kill the king of Morocco, and she and her family were imprisoned. This is the story of their resilience and their resolve to live in freedom. B OUFKIR, M.

The Translator. Daoud Hari. (Sudan)
A young Zaghawa tribesman from the Darfur region of the Sudan describes his escape from the attack that destroyed his village, his struggle for survival, his role as a translator, and the dangers he confronted in his new life. B HARI, D.